It is NOT infected!

If I had a dollar for every time someone came to me to freaking out that their piercing is infected, I wouldn't have to work! Let me tell you, if you follow your Piercer's directions, and take care of your piercing, you have a better chance of getting the plague than dying from an infected piercing. Most the time, the piercing is in the second stage of healing i.e. swelling, redness and oozing. This is not infection. The cream colored fluid that leaks from your piercing is called Lymph Secretions, it is NOT pus. Trust me, if you had an infection, you would KNOW IT! Most people make the mistake of confusing irritation and infection. Infections usually present themselves first with a fever. Then you will have tenderness around the piercing with a brown or green colored ooze that smells terrible. If in doubt, go see your Piercer. Granted, we are not Doctors, but we usually can tell the difference between infection and irritation. Irritation can usually be remedied by saline soaks or something as simple as a jewelry change. Infection on the other hand must be treated with antibiotics you can only get from your Doctor. This can be in the form of oral antibiotics or Bactroban cream. Do not remove your jewelry if you think you have an infection. Doing this can make it worse and cause something called an abcess where the infection gets trapped under the skin. DO NOT EVER TRY TO TREAT AN INFECTION YOURSELF! Using antibacterial substances such as alcohol or iodine will actually make your infection worse. When in doubt, contact your Piercer for advice!

You can DIE!

According to many articles by so-called health "professionals", if you get your tongue pierced, you will most certainly die. Bah! What I am seeing is a trend of hell bent conservative fascists who think that body piercing is the Devil. Seriously, DIE? Come on! There has been no facts proving that a tongue piercing is dangerous if done properly. These are my favorite:

A study from the University of Rochester School of Medicine in New York presented results on 4,500 adolescents aged 12 to 21 and found that teens with body piercings are more likely to smoke cigarettes, use drugs and exhibit other types of unhealthy behavior.
TWEENS & TEENS News January 2006

Ok, so I think I am going to go get my tongue pierced than wreak havoc on Society! Really, I am sure the cause of their behavior is not due to the fact they have a barbell in their tongue!

Here are the fatal dangers of tongue piercing:

* The barbell of the jewelry can become loose and can go down in a wrong way i.e. it can wind up in your lungs. Now you can imagine clearly the consequences, if it really happens with you.
* Your mouth is full of bacteria and it contains major blood vessels which can spread deadly infection to the brain which can easily kill you.
* Chances are there that you can get a serious infection like Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV, if the artist by chance uses unsterilized equipment.
* In extreme cases it may cause blood poisoning which ultimately leads to death.
* It may cause oral cancers.
* Your tongue can swell so large blocking your airways, and ultimately leading to death.
* It can cause speech impediments.
* Deep cyst formation
* Severe damaging of veins and nerves
* Neuromas i.e. overgrowth of nerve tissue
* Endocarditis, it’s a disease caused when bacteria enters the bloodstream and damages the heart valves.

Here are some dangerous consequences of tongue piercing:

* In one case, a 25-year-old woman who was admitted to hospital after her tongue swelled up. She was found to be suffering from a rare condition called Ludwig’s Angina which did not respond to antibiotics. This news came in the British Dental Journal.
* In one case, a teenage boy in England died of blood poisoning after getting his lip pierced. This news was published in the London’s Telegraph in November 2005.
* In another case, a young girl died from Brain Abscess following a tongue piercing. This condition is rare, but it can happen to you too.

Think hundred times before you go for a tongue piercing!
YgoY News December 17, 2007

Now for the second part. Yes, you can swallow the jewelry, I have a dozen times, but I have yet to hear of anyone dying from it. Now as for all the bacteria that easily kill you. If that was the case, you could die from biting your tongue! As for Hep C and HIV, there have been 2 confirmed cases of Hep C TOTAL in the country and not a single case of HIV! Blood poisoning and cancer, for Christ's sake! The lists goes on and on. As for the "Dangerous Consequences" There are no facts showing that the cause of the conditions presented are related in any way to the tongue piercing. Information like this is rampant on the internet and in the media! There have been cases of tooth damage and gum recession. This is mostly from Piercers with lack of experience or the Client not following proper aftercare. There is always risks associated with body piercing. As long as you have a Piercer who knows what they are doing and follow the instructions, you will be fine.

Over 80 Million Ears Pierced Worldwide!

That's what my Arch Nemisis CLAIRE'S likes to advertise. How I see it is, that is over 80 million ears put through the blunt force trauma of an ear piercing gun wielded by some 17 year old girl trying to make some cash on summer break. Face it people, ear piercing guns are NOT SAFE! They can damage the delicate tissue, the jewelry is not meant for initial piercing and then the aftercare they give you, *oh the horror* is just asking to give you an infection. If you have never seen their so-called professional ear piercing aftercare video, please don't. It really is the exact opposite of what any real body piercer worth their salt will tell you. Don't get me wrong, it is not just them. Some "professional" piercers actually use guns in their studios to pierce not just ears, but other body parts as well! Check out the example below:

This poor girl came to me for some help. You see her Tragus was pierced at a "professional" studio with a gun. You can't tell, but the gems on her earrings are BLUE! I had to dig those crappy pieces of jewelry out of her ears and replace them with high quality cbr's. She finally healed, but learned a valuable lesson. It may be cheap, but will cost you a ton in the long run! If you really want a piercing, go see a reputable piercer. A great place to start is The Association of Professional Piercers They have a ton of great information and links to qualified piercers in your area.

Welcome to the House of Pain!

My name is Niki and I have been a Body Piercer for 5 years. I have had the pleasure of seeing some amazing body modification and some not-so-good examples. I love my job. I mean I LOVE it! Body Modification is my life. I eat, breath and sleep it. I have dedicated my life to perfecting my skills and being the best artist I can be in this ever changing field. I decided to start this blog to enlighten those souls that are drawn to body modification in hopes of educating them. You will find bits and pieces of everything here from my own work, to work that should have never been done. I am sure you will also find a funny story or two (my job can be quite humorous) and even a few touching moments. Welcome to my House of Pain!